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Monday, April 18, 2016

Core Post #4: Madonna, Truth or Dare, and Bell Hook

In the reading for today, Bell Hook analyzes Madonna and her
role in the documentary, Truth or Dare. Hook discusses the way in which Madonna
systemically dominated her employees, particularly her treatment of people of
color. In the film, Madonna and her relationship with her dancers is a major
focus. She calls her dancers, mostly made of black gay men “emotional cripples”
and “lost children.” She also goes on to crown herself the group’s “mother”
leading her dancers and all her employees towards salvation. (163) But
Madonna’s version of salvation, which means having a great tour and talking
about Madonna to Madonna a lot. There’s
very clearly a power hierarchy backstage. Madonna rules every scene, every
conversation. She leads a pray session before every performance. Ultimately,
the documentary was uncomfortable and at times painful to watch. She positions
herself as subversive to mainstream culture but in the film relishes in her power
over really anyone and almost everyone. Hook points out that while Madonna
dominates people of color and white working class women in the film, she does
not really challenge any white men. (AKA Warren Beatty) In fact, Hook goes on to say that Madonna may
envy white male power and while trying to reject, actually embody in her work
and offstage behavior. Her performances are often with black male performers.
Hook suggests that Madonna uses black gay men in her performances and in her
own personal life as tools to position herself in opposition to white
patriarchy. Her sexual agency only comes from breaking the ties that establish her as “a white girl in white hierarchy”
and “establishing new ties with black men.” (161,) This enforces ideas that blackness is in tuned to sexual dominance and whiteness comes from purity
or a separateness from the body. On top of that, Madonna positions the men to be submissive to her will and dependent on her both on and off stage. She treats
them like props that go with her outfit for the day and not real human beings.

In my opinion, Madonna was clearly self-involved, narcissistic,
and obviously toxic to the people around her. Oddly enough, I was relieved when
Warren Beatty told Madonna that her life was “crazy” and when you stay in it
too long you start to act and feel crazy. “Doesn’t that worry you?” said Beatty
sounding too sane to be in the room. (A strange thing to say because I never thought
of Beatty as an example of sanity, at least prior to his Annette Bening years.) In response, Madonna playfully shakes her head, no. No, she's not worried about it. At all.